ARLINGTON, Texas — Home opener. Those are two of the best words in all of sports and the Dallas Cowboys took to AT&T Stadium on Sunday to commence theirs against the visiting New York Giants, the second NFC East opponent they’ve faced in as many weeks — narrowly falling to the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles a few days prior.
Having flipped their home field advantage into anything but in 2024, falling to 2-7 on their own turf last season, it was paramount the Cowboys get off to a strong start this time around to both regain their dominance in North Texas, but to also avoid the dreaded 0-2 hole to begin a campaign.
They nearly got the job done in a nailbiter of a barfight, and largely because the Cowboys would never say die, no matter how many haymakers the Giants landed, delivering their own final blow in overtime.
And these players helped lift the Cowboys up up and away:
[Note: This list is unranked.]
KaVonte Turpin, WR
It was a mostly stale offensive outing for the Cowboys, if not for Turpin injecting lightning bolts into that side of the ball on more than one occasion. A standout play of his saw him reel in a 16-yard conversion on third down but that’s not the headliner of his afternoon. That title belongs to the only touchdown scored by the Cowboys in the first half, on an inside slant from Dak Prescott that pumped energy into the team as a whole — getting involved as a running back as well on a couple of occasions.
Javonte Williams, RB
Throughout training camp in Oxnard, the Cowboys continually pointed at Javonte Williams as the lead horse (no Broncos pun intended here) in their rebuilt running backs room. He answered the bell with two rushing touchdowns against the Eagles and his 30-yard burst through traffic in the middle of the third quarter for a touchdown that gave him three on the season, and Dallas their first lead of the game at 17-13 — already tallying half of the six the Cowboys ran for throughout the entirety of the 2024 season. It seems their faith in him was well-founded.
Dak Prescott, QB
It was not pretty. At times, it was downright ugly. But, other times, it was a master class in how to make a throw into a tight window. Prescott dodged some bullets, but not all of them, keeping his head high throughout the dogfight and, in the fourth quarter, when it mattered most, his connection with CeeDee Lamb came alive, sprinkled with George Pickens and the fact he used Jake Ferguson and KaVonte Turpin to keep the Cowboys’ offense moving when it otherwise couldn’t. The clutch gene showed its face, and the look upon its countenance was lovely.
George Pickens, WR
The fact George Pickens had only one target through the middle of the fourth quarter is of no consequence when you note he drew two defensive pass interference penalties in the game, three through his first two games, and one of them immediately preceding the 30-yard touchdown from Williams. Pickens’ second catch of the game was critical, helping to extend a fourth-quarter drive that ended in the Cowboys retaking the lead to the tune of 27-23 on Miles Sanders’ goal line scoot; and his third coming with a little more than a minute remaining in the contest to move the chains as the Cowboys worked to try and land the comeback victory — his fourth reception being his first touchdown in a Cowboys’ uniform, rewarding Prescott for an exceptional low and away throw that should’ve nailed the coffin shut.
CeeDee Lamb, WR
Someone must’ve slid Lamb some smelling salts in the fourth quarter, because the way he woke up was equivalent to him being shocked with a defibrillator. The All-Pro receiver went from quiet to loud in an instant in the fourth quarter, delivering critical and key catches when Prescott and the Cowboys needed him most, and putting himself on track to for another 100-yard outing, his second in as many weeks. This week, Lamb had a slow start but a hot finish, the inverse of what occurred a little more than a week prior — owning the fourth quarter against the Giants.
Brandon Aubrey, K
As per usual, the First-team All-Pro kicker did his job when given the chance. Aubrey was perfect on the day in both field goal attempts and in point after touchdowns, and that should shock absolutely no one. Marching onto the field to kick a 64-yard field goal to tie the game with no time remaining and forcing overtime tells you he has glaciers in his veins, and is, without a doubt, the best kicker in the entire NFL, barring no one.
Donovan Wilson, S
It was a brutally rough go for the Cowboys’ secondary against Wilson, giving up a mountain of yardage in the air but, when they needed most to clamp down, is was the other Wilson showing up big. Tie game at the two-minute mark in overtime and need a takeaway, Donovan Wilson, one of the team’s captains for 2025, came up with a deep ball Malik Nabers to give Dak Prescott and Co. another shot at ending the fight, once and for all.
James Houston, DE
If you were calling for the Cowboys to deploy James Houston more often in Week 2, you got your wish, and you felt damn good about the results. The veteran defensive end made his presence felt with Dallas’ first sack of the day and second of the season, taking down Russell Wilson on the opening drive before drawing a personal foul against offensive lineman James Hudson that became a plus-15 yard flag for the Cowboys. He’s earning more reps, at this rate.
Jake Ferguson, TE
Other than Turpin, the Cowboys were hard-pressed to find a receiver displaying consistency in production, so they looked to the tight ends group and Jake Ferguson did the rest. Helping to stabilize things for Dallas in the third quarter and beyond, the Pro Bowler led all receivers as the game rolled through the fourth quarter, before Lamb came alive, giving Prescott a seam option that stressed the linebackers and nickel corners of the Giants.
Kenny Clark, DT
Another week, another terrific performance for Clark, both against the run and the pass. His defense against the former saw him help the Cowboys, time and again, stand tall when Russell Wilson and the Giants had only goal to go, at least more often than not, and his penetration early in the game was rewarded with his first sack of the season when he took down Russell Wilson in the first half. His acquisition looks better not just by the game, but by the rep.
Osa Odighizuwa + Solomon Thomas + Donovan Ezeiruaku
Along with Clark, these three were playing with their hair on fire the entire game. Odighizuwa and Thomas were terrors in run defense and in pushing Wilson off of his spot on several occasions, while Ezeiruaku took over on at least one series with not one, or two, but three consecutive pressures that forced Wilson into two errant throws and zero points in the red zone.